RESPONSE
September 11, 2001 was a defining moment in my career. As the commander of the 2nd Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Civil Support Team (CST), I led my unit during its deployment to New York City in the aſtermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Psychologically, nothing could have prepared us for the deaths of civilian responders – colleagues we had trained and worked with. Operationally, the lessons we learned meant overcoming challenges that military and civilian responders still face today.
Responders breathed the same
toxic dust that covered this camera lens and responder vehicles.
Crews work to clear the remains of Building 7 from the roadway.
Photos courtesy of the author
spaces – complicated the emergency response on 9/11. Near the WTC, vehicles belonging to victims constricted roadways. Rubble and debris also hindered our ability to access areas. Responders who lacked equipment borrowed Gator tools and literally cut their way through metal. Today, Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams train in structure collapse simulators (SCS) or ‘rubble piles’ for better aboveground, below-ground, and ground-level training. Many of the responders at Ground Zero did not have or use respiratory protection equipment such as air-purifying respirators (APR), powered air-purifying respirators (PAPR), or self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Although more civilian responders have better equipment today, not all rebreathers are designed for CBRN use. Training and education, including instruction about how to select and use equipment, remain important for human health and safety.
Hazardous materials and the Fear Factor
In an urban environment like New York City, hundreds of different hazardous materials (HazMat) are present and plentiful in everything from computers to cleaning supplies. There are also toxic chemicals in refrigerant systems, as well as storage tanks with gasoline and diesel fuel. At Ground Zero, many different contaminants were ground into a fine, toxic
powder. These included glass and heavy metals from electronics, fibres from rugs and carpets, dust from crushed cement, and even human hair. One of the HAZMAT lessons I learned
from 9/11 was, in part, psychological. When I returned home to upstate New York, my wife asked me to change in the garage and to discard my uniform. While I was away, several spouses had discussed what members of my unit had not considered – the dust on our uniforms probably contained the remains of the deceased. In retrospect, members of the 2nd WMD should have discarded their uniforms, showered, and put on clean clothes before leaving New York City. Today, defense and security experts are concerned that terrorists could use toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) and toxic industrial materials (TIMs) in attacks at home and abroad. TICs and TIMs are produced in large quantities and can persist in the environment depending on variables such as their
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